Refrigerator having reinforced receiving device

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator which provides an improved structure of a receiving device to prevent a receiving container cover from being deformed or damaged. The refrigerator includes a receiving container, and a receiving container cover which covers an upper portion of the receiving container. The receiving container cover includes a front frame portion which forms a front structure, a guide rail extended from a rear portion of the receiving container cover toward a lower portion of the front frame portion, and a reinforcing member extended transversely in the lower portion of the front frame portion to reinforce the strength of the receiving container cover. The guide rail includes a through hole such that the reinforcing member passes through the through hole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.2007-0019188, filed on Feb. 26, 2007 in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularlyto a refrigerator which provides an improved installation structure of areceiving device disposed in a storage chamber.

2. Description of the Related Art

A refrigerator is an apparatus which supplies cool air generated by arefrigeration cycle to a storage chamber to maintain freshness ofvarious food products for a long period of time. Generally, therefrigerator includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve andan evaporator. The refrigerator supplies cool air to the storagechamber, that is, a freezing chamber and a cooling chamber, using heattransfer according to phase change of a coolant.

A plurality of shelves is disposed in the storage chamber of therefrigerator to store food products thereon. A drawer type receivingdevice may be disposed in the storage chamber to freshly store foodproducts such as vegetables, fruit, meat and fish.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a receiving device of a conventionalrefrigerator. As shown in FIG. 1, the receiving device of theconventional refrigerator includes a receiving container 1 with an upperportion opened, and a receiving container cover 2 which covers the upperportion of the receiving container 1 to separate the inner space of thereceiving container 1. A guide rail 3 for stably loading the receivingcontainer 1 is disposed on a lower portion of the receiving containercover 2. The receiving container 1 is extracted outward and retractedinward while sliding along the guide rail 3.

The guide rail 3 serves to reinforce the strength for supporting thereceiving container cover 2 while guiding the movement of the receivingcontainer 1. However, in the above-mentioned receiving device, the guiderail 3 is placed at the rear side of the receiving container cover 2.Accordingly, the strength of a front portion of the receiving containercover 2 is weak. Thus, the receiving container cover 2 may be bent ordamaged when a large load is exerted on the receiving container cover 2.

Particularly, the above-mentioned problem becomes more serious in aFrench type refrigerator which has been recently developed. The Frenchtype refrigerator includes a storage chamber having a relatively largerwidth compared to a side-by-side type refrigerator which has beenpreviously widely used. Accordingly, in the French type refrigerator,the receiving container cover 2 is designed to have a larger width, andthe receiving container cover 2 may be more easily bent or damaged.

SUMMARY

The present invention has been made in order to solve the aboveproblems. It is an aspect of the invention to provide a refrigeratorwhich provides an improved structure of a receiving device disposed in astorage chamber to prevent a receiving container cover from beingdeformed or damaged.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided arefrigerator including a receiving container; a receiving containercover which covers an upper portion of the receiving container, thereceiving container cover including a front frame portion which forms afront structure and a guide rail extended from a rear portion of thereceiving container cover toward a lower portion of the front frameportion; and a reinforcing member extended transversely under the frontframe portion to reinforce a strength of the receiving container cover.

The guide rail may include a through hole such that the reinforcingmember passes through the through hole.

The receiving container cover may further include a cover panelinstalled on the guide rail, and the guide rail may include a supportportion which supports the cover panel, an extended portion extendedbelow the front frame portion and the support portion, and a rail partprovided at an end portion of the extended portion to guide movement ofthe receiving container.

The extended portion may include a through hole such that thereinforcing member passes through the through hole.

The support portion may include a support surface extended in left andright directions from the extended portion.

The front frame portion may include a support rib which supports an endportion of the reinforcing member.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided arefrigerator including a receiving container; a receiving containercover which covers an upper portion of the receiving container, thereceiving container cover including a front frame portion which forms afront structure, a rear frame portion which forms a rear structure and asupport portion extended from the rear frame portion toward the frontframe portion; and a reinforcing member extended transversely in thefront frame portion to reinforce a strength of the receiving containercover.

The receiving container cover may further include an extended portionextended below the front frame portion and the support portion and arail part protruded sideward from an end portion of the extended portionto guide movement of the receiving container, and the extended portionmay include a through hole such that the reinforcing member passesthrough the through hole.

The front frame portion may include an engaging groove which engageswith an end portion of the reinforcing member.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forthin part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparentfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the exemplary embodimentsof the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated fromthe following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a receiving device of a conventionalrefrigerator;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an external appearance of a refrigeratoraccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of therefrigerator according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a receivingdevice in the refrigerator according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line I-I of FIG. 4; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views showing configurations of portionsof the receiving device shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the presentinvention by referring to the figures.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a frontview showing an external appearance of a refrigerator according to thepresent invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing aconfiguration of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the refrigerator according to the presentinvention includes a main body 10 having a storage chamber 11 whichstores food products, a door 20 which opens and closes the storagechamber 11, and a drawer type receiving device 100 which forms aseparated storage space to freshly store food products such asvegetables and fruit without drying the food products out.

The main body 10 includes an outer housing 12 which forms an outersurface of the main body 10, and an inner housing 13 which is disposedat a specified distance from the outer housing 12 to form the storagechamber 11 therein. Between the outer housing 12 and the inner housing13 a thermal insulator 14 is formed by foaming to prevent cool air fromdissipating.

The refrigerator shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is a so-called French typerefrigerator. The storage chamber 11 is divided into an upper portionand a lower portion by a middle partition, thereby forming a coolingchamber 11 a which cools and stores food products at the upper side anda freezing chamber 11 b which freezes and stores food products at thelower side. Cooling chamber doors 20 a rotate while beinghinge-connected to the main body 10 to open and close the coolingchamber 11 a. A freezing chamber door 20 b is slidably installed on themain body 10 and moves forward and backward to open and close thefreezing chamber 11 b.

Evaporators 15 and 16 are installed at the rear of the storage chamber11 to generate cool air to be supplied to the storage chamber 11 by heatexchange with the surrounding air. Circulation fans 17 and 18 arerespectively installed adjacent to the evaporators 15 and 16 tocirculate air in the storage chamber 11.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the receivingdevice in the refrigerator according to the present invention. FIG. 5 isa cross-sectional view taken along a line I-I of FIG. 4. Since thereceiving device has a symmetrical structure, FIG. 4 shows only one sideportion for simplicity. FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views showingconfigurations of portions of the receiving device shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the receiving device 100 includes supportmembers 101 respectively installed on the opposite side surfaces of thecooling chamber 11 a, receiving containers 102 with upper portionsopened to load and unload food products, and a receiving container cover103 which covers the upper portions of the receiving containers 102 toseparate inner portions of the receiving containers 102. Although thereceiving device 100 shown in FIG. 2 is installed in the cooling chamber11 a and has two receiving containers 102 arranged on the left and rightsides, an installation position of the receiving device 100 and thenumber of the receiving containers 102 may be appropriately changed asrequired by the design without being limited thereto.

The support members 101 are fixed to the inner side surfaces of theinner housing 13 (see FIG. 2) using clamping parts such as screws. Theopposite ends of the receiving container cover 103 are stably loaded onthe upper surfaces of the support members 101. Each of the supportmembers 101 includes a guide part 111 protruded toward the inside of thecooling chamber 11 a such that each of the receiving containers 102 isslidably installed on the guide part 111. The guide part 111 guides thesliding movement of the receiving container 102 when the receivingcontainer 102 is extracted and retracted while supporting a flange part121 formed at one side of the receiving container 102. A guide roller112 is installed on the guide part 111 to smoothly move the receivingcontainer 102.

The receiving container cover 103 includes a cover panel 131 which isformed in a rectangular flat plate shape and a frame 132 which supportsthe edge of the cover panel 131. The frame 132 includes a front frameportion 132 a and a rear frame portion 132 b which form the front andrear structure, and a side frame portion 132 c which connects the frontframe portion 132 a with the rear frame portion 132 b. The frame 132 hasa rectangular shape having a relatively long horizontal length.Meanwhile, the cover panel 131 covers an opened upper portion of thereceiving container 102 to separate the receiving container 102 from thecooling chamber 11 a. The cover panel 131 is generally formed of atransparent tempered glass or panel made of a resin material.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the receiving container cover 103 includes aguide rail 140 extended from the rear toward a lower portion of thefront frame portion 132 a and a reinforcing member 150 extendedtransversely in the lower portion of the front frame portion 132 a toreinforce the strength of the receiving container cover 103. Since afront portion of the receiving container cover 103 is close to the userwho loads and unloads products, when products are stored in thereceiving container 102 or on the receiving container cover 103, theload may be concentrated on the front portion of the receiving containercover 103. Accordingly, as described above, the guide rail 140 isextended to the front frame portion 132 a and the reinforcing member 150is installed on the lower portion of the front frame portion 132 a suchthat a concentrated load exerted on the receiving container cover 103can be dispersed to prevent the receiving container cover 103 from beingdeformed or damaged.

The guide rail 140 is disposed between the two receiving containers 102.The guide rail 140 includes a support portion 141 extended from the rearframe portion 132 b toward the front frame portion 132 a, an extendedportion 142 provided below the support portion 141 and the front frameportion 132 a, and a rail part 143 protruded sideward from the endportion of the extended portion 142.

The support portion 141 which is extended forward and backward serves todisperse the load exerted on the receiving container cover 103 in theforward and backward direction. Preferably, the support portion 141 hasa support surface 141 a at a position where the support portion 141 isin contact with the cover panel 131, and the support surface 141 a isextended in the left and right direction from the extended portion 142.The support surface 141 a can efficiently disperse the load exerted onthe cover panel 131.

The rail part 143 guides the extraction and retraction of the receivingcontainer 102 together with the guide part 111 of the support member 101while supporting a flange part 122 formed at the other side of thereceiving container 120. In the same way as the guide part 111, a guideroller 143 a is installed on the rail part 143 to smoothly move thereceiving container 102.

Since the guide rail 140 is extended toward a lower portion of the frontframe portion 132 a and the reinforcing member 150 is installedtransversely in the lower portion of the front frame portion 132 a, thereinforcing member 150 interferes with the guide rail 140. Thus, athrough hole 142 a is formed in the extended portion 142 of the guiderail 140 such that the reinforcing member 150 passes through the throughhole 142 a.

As shown in FIG. 7, an end portion of the reinforcing member 150 issupported by the front frame portion 132 a. For this, the front frameportion 132 a has a support rib 132 d which supports the end portion ofthe reinforcing member 150. The support rib 132 d forms an engaginggroove 132 e into a shape corresponding to the cross-section of thereinforcing member 150. The engaging groove 132 e is coupled with theend portion of the reinforcing member 150.

The reinforcing member 150 may be made of stainless steel havingcorrosion resistance and high strength or reinforced plastics having lowweight and high strength.

As described above, according to the present invention, the frontportion of the receiving container cover is reinforced by the guide railand the reinforcing member. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent thereceiving container cover from being deformed or damaged due to the loadexerted on the receiving container cover.

Further, according to the present invention, the guide rail is extendedtoward a lower portion of the front frame portion of the receivingcontainer cover. Accordingly, it is possible to lengthen an extractionpath of the receiving container.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in this embodiment without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

1. A refrigerator comprising: a receiving container; a receivingcontainer cover which covers an upper portion of the receivingcontainer, the receiving container cover including a front frame portionwhich forms a front structure and a guide rail extended from a rearportion of the receiving container cover toward a lower portion of thefront frame portion; and a reinforcing member extended transverselyunder the front frame portion to reinforce a strength of the receivingcontainer cover.
 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein theguide rail includes a through hole such that the reinforcing memberpasses through the through hole.
 3. The refrigerator according to claim1, wherein the receiving container cover further includes a cover panelinstalled on the guide rail, and the guide rail includes a supportportion which supports the cover panel, an extended portion extendedbelow the front frame portion and the support portion, and a rail partprovided at an end portion of the extended portion to guide movement ofthe receiving container.
 4. The refrigerator according to claim 3,wherein the extended portion includes a through hole such that thereinforcing member passes through the through hole.
 5. The refrigeratoraccording to claim 3, wherein the support portion includes a supportsurface extended in left and right directions from the extended portion.6. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the front frameportion includes a support rib which supports an end portion of thereinforcing member.
 7. A refrigerator comprising: a receiving container;a receiving container cover which covers an upper portion of thereceiving container, the receiving container cover including a frontframe portion which forms a front structure, a rear frame portion whichforms a rear structure and a support portion extended from the rearframe portion toward the front frame portion; and a reinforcing memberextended transversely in the front frame portion to reinforce a strengthof the receiving container cover.
 8. The refrigerator according to claim7, wherein the receiving container cover further includes an extendedportion extended below the front frame portion and the support portionand a rail part protruded sideward from an end portion of the extendedportion to guide movement of the receiving container, and the extendedportion includes a through hole such that the reinforcing member passesthrough the through hole.
 9. The refrigerator according to claim 8,wherein the front frame portion includes an engaging groove whichengages with an end portion of the reinforcing member.